What the World Needs Now
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW!!! I’m glad that I have an opportunity to participate in your 100th Anniversary Celebration. But there is another dimension of “glad” possessing me now. It’s the joy of which the writer speaks in the 122nd Psalm. “I was glad when they said unto me; let us go in to the house of the Lord.” And if I weren’t lifting up the activity of one who Isaiah labeled a “voice crying in the wilderness,” I’d be tempted to sing Happy 100th Anniversary to you. Instead, I want to lay the challenge of this man’s life before you. For John the Baptist had the awesome task of preparing the way for the Lord. As sainted as is the reputation of the Apostle Paul, he who started a lot of churches, trained lay and clergy and sent them into service, who wrote a major part of the New Testament Romans and Corinthians among them, he who brought excluded gentiles in large numbers, took seriously the mandate of John the Baptist, i.e., to repent of his sins. Countless times, Paul testified about his turnaround from hating and persecuting people of the Way to loving and supporting them. In personal terms, the apostle Paul made an admission requiring repentance. Most of us have made similar acknowledgements when taking a close look at ourselves in the mirror. “I do not understand my own actions,” wrote Paul in Romans 7:15. “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Clearly, John the Baptist offered a solution for our wrongdoing relevant to this day and hour. Its universal message can be likened to a familiar song, “What the World needs now is love, sweet love, it’s the only thing there’s just too little of. Instead of pushing the need for love, John the Baptist called the world to genuine repentance. Hence, I’ve have focused the sermon on the thought, “What the world needs now is repentance. At bottom, repentance suggests the following: something is not right; something must be said and something must be done. SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT Our text opened with the fateful words, “In those days, came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” When John the Baptist began his ministry, the world exhibited one longstanding trend. It lacked the ability to turn itself around. Turning over a new leaf was always short-lived. In the Old Testament, God’s chosen people made a habit of falling in and out of love with God. On one hand, they’d straighten up and fly right. Then, they’d blow it by worshiping idols, not following through on their promises to God or mistreating the widow, the stranger and gentiles whose beliefs were different. By the time of John and Jesus birth’, nothing had changed fundamentally. Luke’s gospel used very specific language in describing John’s call to ministry. Words from Luke 1:15-16 stated, “and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons and daughters of Israel to the Lord their God.” In those days, when he came; look at what he found, a mess. King Herod and his successors agreed on one principle. Rome had given them the power to rule that part of the world. No king, not even Jesus was going to take it away from them without a fight. In a failed bid to get rid of Jesus, King Herod ordered the death of all male children two years old and under. The Sadducees and Pharisees instructed parishioners on what they were to believe. Regardless of what the Son of God preached and taught, it was considered inauthentic. More often than not, the people of God had developed situational ethics to guide them in daily living. Surviving the hassles of the governmental and religious proved to be quite an undertaking. First century Judean life required a drastic makeover. So John was dispatched to prepare the way for One who could make it right. Time and again, Presidential races have not brought out the best behavior in candidates. And the media has not helped. Instead of exposing the right, they delight in showing the wrong, the misstep and the misstatement. Good news won’t sell; bad news will. In September, a research company studying City Crime Rankings labeled Detroit as “the most dangerous city in the nation.” Once the Iraq war is over, tears, impassioned laments and diverse perspectives will rend the hearts and minds of winners and losers for the next 100 years. In these days, John the Baptist has issued the call of repentance to the church as well. A Senate Finance Committee has launched a probe of Megachurches. Some critics have claimed that a number of well-known televangelists have misappropriated tithes and offerings of their contributors. Some church signs or message boards have the message of repentance lodged in light humor. A sign in Selkirk New York read “KEEP USING MY NAME IN VAIN; I’LL MAKE RUSH HOUR LONGER—GOD.” Still another in Arcadia, Florida proclaimed “IT WASN’T THE APPLE IT WAS THE PAIR.” In those days and in these days, one thing is clear, “What the world needs now is repentance, true repentance; it’s one of the things there’s just too little of. Something is not right with the world. SOMETHING MUST BE SAID Beyond Martin Luther King, other social prophets and numerous biblical prophets, no one shook my world like a lady in my first church on the Southside of Chicago. Something she had to say triggered deep remorse and repentance within. St Luke celebrated Father’s and Mother’s Day. I did all right on Mother’s Day sermons. But my Father’s Day sermons left something to be desired. Dismayed, the late Mrs. Dorothy Casey caught up with me after the third Father’s Day Sermon. In private, Mrs. Casey spoke these prophetic words to me. Rev. Keaton, for three years I’ve heard you preach Father’s Day sermons. They’re all negative. I come to church to hear my father celebrated on this day. He loves me. He’s done a lot for me. He supported our family, loved my mother and continues now. Stop generalizing your experience and pain of no father in your home as the circumstance for everyone in this congregation. It’s not fair. And it’s wrong. At the moment, she spoke the prophetic word to me; the scales fell from my eyes. Remorse and repentance tore at my sprit in that moment of revelation. After I apologized, she left and I lost it. Still, her word proved to be one of the best things that happened to me in ministry. Not only did I become one of the best Father’s Day preachers at the church, it led to greater self-examination. What other blind spots lay within that the prophetic word of another bold enough to speak to the pastor could and would elicit the fruit of repentance. As Mrs. Casey believed she had to say something to me, so too did John the Baptist to the first century world. The word of JB caused the same result. Eugene Peterson’s The Message boiled down John’s word in a powerful declarative statement “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.” And people responded by the hundreds. They left the city to meet John in the wilderness. And they confessed their sin to a complete stranger dressed like a beatnik. If you want proof that what John the Baptist preached mattered, read Luke 3: 10-20. They asked John immediately, “What shall we do?” God’s word moved them to change their lives. Folks who had two coats and plenty of food were urged to share with the needy. Consequently, they were released from the sin of Ebenezer Scrooge-abject selfishness and the refusal to “rescue the perishing and care for the dying.” What Zaccheus, the famous tax collector, promised to give back to his victims after Jesus visited him illustrated how successful men of his kind had been. Zaccheus had enough “dough” to restore his victims fourfold. That’s a turnaround. John’s message had broken Herod’s grip on a few soldiers. They wanted to change. To do so, the soldiers had to cease “shakedowns and blackmail.” The use of terror had to be set aside. Do we need more proof that something ought to be said in times when the world is bent on “a war that ends all wars” and the church at its best can teach folk to love God and neighbor? When Central UMC then Oakland Avenue Methodist Church took its first breath in 1907, she joined John the Baptist in his mission and ministry. Central joined a Wesleyan tradition which early on stressed “reforming the nation and spreading scriptural holiness across the land.” You, your children and grandchildren plus all who enter these portals are shaped by the message of John the Baptist. Without fully knowing it, you said something about repentance every time Baptism is performed and Holy Communion is served. Listen to John’s call to repent in the excerpts of the Baptismal Covenant. The preacher asks: Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the powers of evil, and repent of your sin? If so, say, I do. Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves? If so, say I do. By rote, my home church imprinted the spirit of “turn your life around” by using the words of invitation now fallen into disuse. Members of this church were impacted by the same words. “Ye that do truly and earnestly repent of your sins and are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways: Draw near with faith, and take this Holy Sacrament to your comfort and make your humble confession to almighty God.” Beyond the admonition of the sacraments, the preached word has allowed Central UMC to fulfill the mission and ministry of John the Baptist in calling all God’s children to live and model the abundant life of Christ’s witness to the world. Central has been at its finest when you have joined God in ritual, preaching and practice declaring to all who enter “Change your life, God’s kingdom is near.” What the world needs now is repentance, true repentance. It’s the only thing there’s just too little of. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE Dennis Quaid, American actor, was in the news recently. Quaid and his wife had twins. They were born in California. Twelve days later, they nearly died. The hospital staff mistakenly gave the babies 1000 times the proper dosage of heparin. Quaid sued the manufacturer. Helen Blackman wasn’t so lucky. She lost a 15 year old son after minor surgery. The June Reader’s Digest indicated such mistakes are increasing. According to a HealthGrades study, 248,000 patient deaths in a three year period were preventable. Although Helen settled with the Medical University for $950,000.00 without a lawsuit, she decided something must be done. Consequently, Helen started an activist group named Mothers Against Medical Error. Now, Helen works full time as a patient advocate. Is this not one explanation of the coming of John? Too many sheep of God’s pasture and other folds were being lost to everything but love of God and neighbor. Beginning with John the Baptist, something had to be done. For all John’s success at preaching; it took far more than that to change the culture. Hence, John preached. Folk were convicted. They received baptism and proceeded to turn their lives around. And they became disciples of his way of life and thinking. A shifting of commitments by hundreds upon hundreds of people caused great concern among the religious and governmental hierarchy. Masses of people changed their alliances from the Herod and the Sanhedrin to John the Baptist. Why hadn’t they changed before? While the masses always saw through the duplicity of leaders who were not quite right; they lacked the strength to follow a different path until the coming of John. Said differently, John the Baptist criticized the scribes and Pharisees because they pretended to repent. But their so-called atonement had no effect on their actions towards him or others. The moral leadership of Judean culture was anything but. After hearing and seeing John the Baptist, following John and Jesus was the way to go. Herod the Tetrarch had more guts and guile than the scribes and Pharisees. Because John criticized him for taking his brother’s wife, John was imprisoned. Still, the masses knew that Herod had acted unethically. By then, John had done his work. He made enough disciples to carry the work forward until Christ came. What a fitting parallel for your 100th Anniversary Celebration. Let me explain. A page on your website lists some of the significant accomplishments of the past 100 years. Notably, twenty-six persons signed your papers of incorporation January 21, 1907. It looked like 9 women and 17 men were charter members of Oakland Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church. Over the years, you held services at the Osmun Home, in a tent, a school, in the newly constructed 1910 facility on Oakland Avenue where you promptly renamed yourself Central Methodist Episcopal Church. January 1957, you decided to build a new church and relocate. In 1961, you sold the facility and moved here. While I applaud the original 26, every Trustee who ever served, every donor who ever gave, I applaud lay and clergy alike who contributed to the spiritual and numerical growth of Central UMC. None of these buildings and parsonages would be erected were there not persons to occupy them-persons responding to the historic call of Jesus Christ through the commitment and devotion of John the Baptist, John Wesley, Central’s original 26 down to the present age. To ask men and women to join Christ Jesus is to ask them to repent, be baptized and lead a new life. Our founder called it “going on to perfection.” CONCLUSION I saw a headline in my December 10, 2007 copy of Jet Magazine. It read Mike Tyson Gets Day In Jail FOR DUI, 3 YEARS PROBATION IN DRUG CASE. Surprised by such a light sentence in the light of his history, I looked further. According to court documents, Superior Court Judge Helene Edwards said she was impressed with how the boxer tried to atone following his arrest. (Page 50, Jet Magazine, Dec. 10, 2007) Tyson’s remorse made the difference in his sentence. Time and again, the biblical story reveals that God is impressed with confession of sin and repentance if it is truly genuine and leads to fruit that befits repentance. For John’s sake, look at yourself. Take heed in the spirit of the Negro spiritual uttered these words. “It’s Me, it’s me O Lord standing in the need of prayer.(Repeat) Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. (Repeat) Not my father, not my mother, but its me O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” I can hear Dionne Warwick singing these words on behalf of John the Baptist, “What’s the world needs now, is repentance, true repentance, it’s the only thing there’s just too little of. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. 
Matthew 3:1-12
Waterford: Central UMC
Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton
December 9, 2007